This is going to be tricky, because as of today, 17 March (see how European I am now?), we've been to Verona three times. The first was a brief stopover when our train rested there for two hours and we walked into the town center and were shocked to find such nice things. The second was the weekend I'm about to briefly discuss, and the third was Valentine's Day, which was full of chocolate and a bit of rain.
The first time we saw Verona and walked into town, all we really knew about it was that Star-Crossed Lovers fictitiously lived there and committed suicide in a comedy of errors known as Romeo and Juliet. Apparently the entire town center is a UNESCO World Heritage Site because it's a wonderfully preserved historic town, complete with an intact Roman arena which served as a template for the Colosseum in Rome.
As added bonuses, there's a medieval castle with a delightful bridge, a super expensive shopping street full of window-shopping pedestrians all day long, a Roman theater across the river, a beautiful river, hills in the distance, nice piazzas, and of course, the alleged (completely fake) Juliet's Balcony attraction.
This second visit included our first trip into the castle area, which has a courtyard, a museum, and views from overtop the river.
We of course then headed into the town center to see the arena and the strolling areas, and maybe to eat some gelato en route to the squares and such. I'm pretty sure there are nice museums, but we didn't feel the need to go in any, as the town center is basically an open air museum in its own right.
Being inside was nice too, since we hadn't been to Rome yet.
I'll take this time to point out that Jenna is absolutely infatuated with Verona. I mean, she loves it. She finds excuses and reasons to mention it, go visit it, and watch Romeo and Juliet on Netflix (the old-fashioned one, not the Baz Luhrman one (yet)) just because we've been there and she liked it so much. I like it. But I like Florence better. To me, Verona is like mini-Florence but with slightly more ancient stuff and a lot less art. It is beautiful, I'll concede, as the views from atop their notable clock-tower are quite nice.
It goes on for a while up there, with the hills rolling away to the north and the city disappearing into the haze to the south. It really is a charming place. And Valentine's Day was sponsored by a supermarket chain called LIDL, who puts on a ridiculous display called "Verona in Love." It includes photo-booths, fund-raisers, markets, and hundreds of kilos of free chocolate. We took a lot of it. There was an open-air market-room with samples laid out around a circular table set up. We made several laps.
It's a delightful place. You can see for yourself. But I will take this time to note that there's lots of documentation about Juliet's Balcony being fake, except the sign-boards at the actual site. They claim it's the real place, even though Shakespeare may have never been to Verona at all and the balcony wasn't added to that specific house until about 90 years ago. Thankfully it doesn't cost money to see the balcony, but you can pay to go inside. It's a curious place, and there's a statue of "Juliet" in the courtyard whose boob has been rubbed to a new color. Not kidding.
Anyway, it's a lovely place with lovely views and a few areas to have a picnic. They also have a local specialty of horse meat, so, you know, there are surprises around every corner.
Next up, Madrid!
The first time we saw Verona and walked into town, all we really knew about it was that Star-Crossed Lovers fictitiously lived there and committed suicide in a comedy of errors known as Romeo and Juliet. Apparently the entire town center is a UNESCO World Heritage Site because it's a wonderfully preserved historic town, complete with an intact Roman arena which served as a template for the Colosseum in Rome.
As added bonuses, there's a medieval castle with a delightful bridge, a super expensive shopping street full of window-shopping pedestrians all day long, a Roman theater across the river, a beautiful river, hills in the distance, nice piazzas, and of course, the alleged (completely fake) Juliet's Balcony attraction.
This second visit included our first trip into the castle area, which has a courtyard, a museum, and views from overtop the river.
We of course then headed into the town center to see the arena and the strolling areas, and maybe to eat some gelato en route to the squares and such. I'm pretty sure there are nice museums, but we didn't feel the need to go in any, as the town center is basically an open air museum in its own right.
Being inside was nice too, since we hadn't been to Rome yet.
I'll take this time to point out that Jenna is absolutely infatuated with Verona. I mean, she loves it. She finds excuses and reasons to mention it, go visit it, and watch Romeo and Juliet on Netflix (the old-fashioned one, not the Baz Luhrman one (yet)) just because we've been there and she liked it so much. I like it. But I like Florence better. To me, Verona is like mini-Florence but with slightly more ancient stuff and a lot less art. It is beautiful, I'll concede, as the views from atop their notable clock-tower are quite nice.
It goes on for a while up there, with the hills rolling away to the north and the city disappearing into the haze to the south. It really is a charming place. And Valentine's Day was sponsored by a supermarket chain called LIDL, who puts on a ridiculous display called "Verona in Love." It includes photo-booths, fund-raisers, markets, and hundreds of kilos of free chocolate. We took a lot of it. There was an open-air market-room with samples laid out around a circular table set up. We made several laps.
It's a delightful place. You can see for yourself. But I will take this time to note that there's lots of documentation about Juliet's Balcony being fake, except the sign-boards at the actual site. They claim it's the real place, even though Shakespeare may have never been to Verona at all and the balcony wasn't added to that specific house until about 90 years ago. Thankfully it doesn't cost money to see the balcony, but you can pay to go inside. It's a curious place, and there's a statue of "Juliet" in the courtyard whose boob has been rubbed to a new color. Not kidding.
Anyway, it's a lovely place with lovely views and a few areas to have a picnic. They also have a local specialty of horse meat, so, you know, there are surprises around every corner.
Next up, Madrid!
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